Vatican City (Vatican City State), Vatican Library: Ms. ebr. 530 III - Recto
About the Ilan
TextGrid URI of the Editiontextgrid:3w611
Surfaces of the Ilan
Recto
About the Manuscript
Identifiers and Titles
IdentifierVatican City (Vatican City State), Vatican Library: Ms. ebr. 530 III
Alternative IdentifiersCatalogue Allony-Loewinger Vatican: 530 III
Vatican City (Vatican City State), Vatican Library: Ms. ebr. 530
Catalogue Allony-Loewinger Vatican: 530 III
Primary Manuscript TitlesClassical Ilan
Alternative Manuscript TitlesVatican City, BAV, Ms. Vat. ebr. 530 III
NLI ID990001954850205171
Manuscript History
Origin
ContributorsShlomo ben Eliyahu Astruc (Scribe)
Date Information1451
Provenance
OwnerNomico, Jeremiah ben Moses (former owner) ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot by this Owner
OwnerVatican Library (current owner) ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot by this Owner
Provenance PlacesVatican City (Vatican City)
Physical Description
MaterialParchment ๐Translucent or opaque material made from calf, sheep, or goat skin which has been limed, dehaired, scraped, and dried under tension to produce a thin, strong material for writing, bookbinding, or other uses. For finer quality calf parchment, use "vellum." The terms parchment and vellum sometimes have been and still are both confused and used interchangeably. ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Material
Number of Pages171
Dimensions Descriptionca. 70 ร 60
Hand DescriptionByzantine
Languages Used
Main LanguageRabbinic Hebrew ๐https://ilanot.org/voc/languages/he-x-rabbinic ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Language
Additional LanguagesRabbinic Hebrew ๐https://ilanot.org/voc/languages/he-x-rabbinic ๐๏ธSearch for Ilanot with this Language
Content Description
SummaryThe striking ilan preserved in the Vatican library exhibits a top edge cut in a manner that retains the natural contours of the animal skin while suggesting something like a peaked roof. According to the colophon on its verso, this intriguing artifact was drafted in Crete in the year 1451. Its text, in a Byzantine script, is an anonymous commentary on the sefirot likely authored by Joseph Gikatilla or one of his disciples. Sefirotic names, appellations, and associations are featured in its medallions, with more extensive discussions inscribed in the nearest available spaces. In these spaces, each sefirah is described in a few hundred words that address the reader in the second person, sharing the secret of each: its essential characteristics, its role in the overall system, the โunerasableโ divine name and biblical figure to which it corresponds, elements from Sefer yeแบirah, and more. Matters of sefirotic positioning and spatial relationships are also emphasized throughout the short treatise. Thus not only are the qualities of each sefirah attended to but also their networking; an accounting of the channels that connect them to one another is integral to the presentation.
Colophon"ืืื ื' ืจ"ื ืฉืื ืฉื ืช ื'ืจ'ื'ื' ื ืืชื ืื ืืืืื ืืืืืจ ืื ืืื ืฉืื ืจ' ืืจืืื ื ืืืืงื ืืจ ืืฉื ืืฆ"ื ืชืืืขืช ืงืื ื ืฉืืื ืืฉืืจืืง ืืื"ืจ ืืืื ืืื"ื ืื ืคืจืขืชื ืืื ื ืืืื ืื ..."
Further Information
Research LiteratureJ. H. Chajes, The Kabbalistic Tree (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2022), 43, 57โ58.
Nehemya Allony and David S. Loewinger, The List of Photocopies of Hebrew Manuscripts in the Institute: Part III, Hebrew Manuscripts in the Vatican Library (Jerusalem: 1968).
Benjamin Richler, ed., Hebrew Manuscripts in the Vatican Library: Catalogue, palaeographical and codicological descriptions by Malachi Beit-Ariรฉ and Nurit Pasternak, Studi e Testi 438 (Cittร del Vaticano: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 2008).
Nehemya Allony and David S. Loewinger, The List of Photocopies of Hebrew Manuscripts in the Institute: Part III, Hebrew Manuscripts in the Vatican Library (Jerusalem: 1968).
Benjamin Richler, ed., Hebrew Manuscripts in the Vatican Library: Catalogue, palaeographical and codicological descriptions by Malachi Beit-Ariรฉ and Nurit Pasternak, Studi e Testi 438 (Cittร del Vaticano: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 2008).
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